


when I get around you I can't hide the facts

by duckgirlie



Category: 4th Man Out (2015)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-16 11:54:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13053489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/duckgirlie/pseuds/duckgirlie
Summary: on the 4th of july, chris was absolutely sure he didn't want to make out with adam. by the 15th of may, he is absolutely sure he does.





	when I get around you I can't hide the facts

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kissoffools](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kissoffools/gifts).



> just a small note on the rating - there aren't any proper sex scenes in the fic, but one character does watch porn several times, and that's described a little.
> 
> Happy Yuletide! I really like this tiny little friendship movie, so it was great fun to write it for you!
> 
> Thanks to Kris and Lucy for their beta help <3

Three weeks after Chris and Rachel break up, Nick announces over shots that he kind of wants to make out with a dude.

Ortu nearly swallows his shot glass, and Nick has to thump him on the back a bunch of times until he stops choking on his rum, and by the time everyone’s calmed down and breathing normally again, the Rangers have a powerplay in OT and no one is thinking about Nick’s new information any more.

Chris wonders if he should ask Nick about it. He doesn't want to fuck things up with Nick the way he almost fucked things up with Adam, but it really doesn't seem like Nick cares that much, not from the way he's yelling at the game.

The next morning, Chris wonders if he should bring it up while he's driving Adam home, or if that would be weird. He's still getting a handle on the whole gay thing.

Adam can tell.

“You can ask.”

“Oh, thank god. So like, is that the first time you'd heard about that?”

“You mean had Nick ever told me he wants to kiss a dude? No, but I wasn't 100% surprised.”

“Right. Gaydar.” 

Adam does that face thing that usually means Chris has low-key misunderstood some minor gay thing. “My gaydar is actually terrible, so. But he's been reading a lot of books lately.”

“I knew books turned you gay.”

There's a split second of panic while he wonders if that was obviously enough of a joke and even then if it was an acceptable joke, but Adam laughs so he can relax.

“Not all books. Just the gay ones.”

Chris kind of wants to ask about what's in these gay books that's so convincing, but he has no idea if there's going to be more detail in that answer than he wants, so he doesn't.

“Do you think he'll go through with it?”

“Kissing a guy?” Adam shrugged. “Who knows. It took me years to kiss a guy, and I was way more than just vaguely curious.”

“Yeah, but Nick has never suffered from over-thinking things.”

“Or fearing the consequences of his actions.” Adam grinned. “You're right, I give him a month.”

* * * * *

Chris isn’t really planning on giving Nick’s announcement much more thought, but then three days later he and Adam are jogging by the lake and Chris sees Adam’s eyes linger on a blond guy with a beard as he runs past. He doesn’t look like Nick, not really, but he looks enough like him that someone who was into him could easily be into Nick as well.

Chris wonders why he hadn’t considered that the guy Nick might eventually end up making out with might be Adam.

They’re sacked out on some grass while they regain the energy to head home, and Chris turns to Adam.

“So like, about Nick.”

Adam covers his face with his hands. “Oh god. Are you going to be weird about this? I thought you were over being weird about this stuff.”

That’s not exactly fair. Chris is over being weird about _Adam_ being gay, he never claimed to be over being weird about anyone else. But that’s not going to be a winning argument, so he leaves it out.

“I’m not being weird! I just wondered if… if Nick wants to make out with a dude, and you make out with dudes in general, if…”

“Please don’t finish that sentence.” Adam looks horrified. “And please let's never mention the thought of me making out with Nick again. Please.”

Well, that’s a relief, Chris thinks. 

“That’s probably for the best. What would Ortu do if he found out he was the only one of us you’d never locked lips with?”

Adam laughs so hard he cries.

* * * * *

Every time Chris has been single before, he's had Jessica. He even contemplates calling her up this time, but imagining the look on her face while she figured out whatever humiliating penance he'd have to do for abandoning her at the Cheesecake Factory is enough to stop him. 

He's fine, he has pornhub to tide him over. But the first clip he finds isn't really doing anything for him, so he starts clicking through on random related thumbnails until he finds a threesome with a super hot chick. The music isn't too loud and the video cuts the preamble and just starts with her jerking off both the guys on a couch. He takes a swig from his beer and shoves his sweatpants down his thighs.

He's a little zoned out watching, never paying that much attention once he really starts going. The girl is pretty in charge, pushing the guys around until she has them in the position she wants them in and demanding they move faster every time they slow down. He's getting really into it, she's on her back on the couch with one guy fucking her while she blows the other one, and they're all clearly getting close to the end, when suddenly one of the guys leans across the girl and kisses the other one. 

Chris's hand tightens on his dick and he comes. The second he catches his breath, he slams the top of his laptop down.

* * * * *

A week and a half later, Nick decides this is going to be the weekend he's going to kiss a dude. So Adam takes them all to a bar just far enough away that they won’t know anyone, and it takes less than five minutes after they've gotten drinks and a table before both he and Nick have disappeared.

Half an hour later, they’re still not back, and Ortu grabs Chris and pulls him over to the bar. "C'mon, pretend to be my boyfriend so no one tries to fuck me."

Chris glances around the rest of the bar, which is full of dudes wearing skin-tight t-shirts. 

"I think you're safe."

"Bears are a thing Chris, look it up. I'm a fucking catch."

"Right, right." Chris rolls his eyes a little but also steps a little closer to Ortu so that someone could conceivably think that they were a couple, if they thought that Chris was the kind of gay dude who dated dudes who are currently not wearing underwear because the person who does their laundry is on vacation and they're not entirely sure how to use the washer and dryer. 

If Chris was going to date a dude, which obviously he's not, he probably would actually go for someone like Adam. Adam is pretty decent looking, knows how to cook and clean and take care of himself and shit, and they're the same height so it wouldn't be like, a thing. Chris doesn't think he could date someone taller than him, so it's a good thing he isn't gay, basically.

The bartender looks like the kind of guys in the porn videos Chris is still furtively watching sometimes, and also clearly isn't buying that he's dating Ortu, based on how much more attention he pays to Chris while they're ordering.

Chris smiles back reflexively and Ortu punches him in the shoulder.

"I can't believe you'd flirt with him right in front of me! When we're here, loyally supporting our two single friends in their quest to get some dick."

"Please don't say 'dick' that loudly, okay? And neither of them is looking for dick."

"Oh yeah, because 'stops at a gentle kiss' is exactly Nick."

Chris has to concede the point. Nick hasn't been the type to stop at a kiss since he discovered there even was a second base to be had. But that's with women; maybe he'd be different with a dude. Like, it's way different to stick your hand down someone's pants and find an entirely different set of... stuff, than you were used to.

Either way, they might know soon, because when he glances down the bar, he can see that Nick and the guy he was talking too have disappeared.

Maybe it will all be done soon, and Nick can satisfy his curiosity, and they can leave before it gets even more crowded and the bartender tries to flirt with him again. Chris is leaning in to flag down a different bartender for another beer when Ortu pokes him in the side.

"What the hell man, I wasn't smiling at anyone."

"No, look." He points across the bar, away from Nick. "And you said Adam wasn't looking for dick."

Chris looks over at where he's pointing, and Adam is dancing with someone. The guy is a little smaller than Adam, with a silver-blond buzz-cut and ripped jeans. But more importantly, he has his arms resting on Adam's shoulders while Adam presses an arm around his waist to keep him close. They're not even really dancing, just swaying barely in time with the music, and their faces are close together in that way where talking could easily slide to kissing in the blink of an eye. 

The back of Chris's neck prickles, and he doesn't know what to do. Adam can make out with whoever he wants, _has_ been making out with whoever he wants, even if Chris generally isn't there to witness it. 

He turns to order a beer, and when he looks back, they're kissing. The guy has his hands tangled in Adam's hair and Adam has his hand clutched in the back of the guy's shirt. Ortu shoves him in the shoulder again. 

"Oh my god, what?"

"Nick's back."

Nick nods at Chris. Chris looks at him for a moment longer, trying to figure out if he looks different, or if that's a stupid thing to be looking for. Nick just looks quietly contemplative, which isn't the most common look for him, but isn't unheard of either.

"Okay, I'll go get Adam."

Chris steps away from the bar, but Ortu grabs his arm and pulls him back.

"What are you doing? We can't cockblock him. Rude, man."

Chris glances over, where Adam and the guy are still making out.

"We can't just leave him, how's he getting home?"

"I'll text him."

A moment later, Adam detaches slightly from they guy to dig his phone out of his pocket. The guy just starts kissing his neck instead. Adam reads the text and glances over at the three of them, then starts to pull away from the guy, who doesn't want to let him go. He leans in and whispers something in the guy's ear, kisses him again, and pulls away.

"Adam's so smooth," Ortu says approvingly. 

Chris has known Adam for years, and Adam has literally never been smooth in his life. But something has obviously changed, as Adam detaches himself from the guy he's been making out with with minimal fuss and heads back to the three of them at the bar.

"We're all done?" His lips are read and a little swollen.

Chris and Ortu both look at Nick for confirmation. He nods.

"Alright then." Adam slings his arm around Chris's shoulder and they start moving towards the door. "I'm exhausted."

Adam smells like his usual self, the guy who has been using the same soap his whole life and has never even considered lotion. Chris is so used to that smell that he doesn't even notice it anymore, but this time there's a trace of something else, something a little too sweet that isn't there usually, and wasn't there earlier. It takes Chris a second to realise that it must be whatever cologne the guy was wearing. The back of his neck prickles again.

Adam drops his arm from Chris's shoulders. "Everything okay?"

Chris smiles blandly. "Everything's cool."

* * * * *

“So, did you like it?”

“Like what?”

Sometimes Chris doesn’t know how he’s friends with these guys. “Making out with a dude?”

“Oh, that, right.” Nick scratches his beard for a second. “It was pretty good, I guess. He wasn’t bad at it.”

“So you were into it?”

“Sure? He was super into it though, he totally blew me in the restroom without me even having to say anything. Then I felt a little bad about maybe leaving him hanging, so I jerked him off.”

This is all way more than Chris was expecting. “And… you liked that?”

“It’s no pussy, but it’s okay.”

“Right. Pussy’s great.”

“Pussy _is_ great.” Nick grins. “But it’s good to know that like, if I was ever in prison, or on a desert island with just dudes, that I wouldn’t be stuck just jerking it for the rest of my life.”

“You must be relieved.”

“That was one of my top ten fears. Plus like, the threesome option.”

Nick mistakes Chris’s studied silence for a lack of knowledge and leans in conspiratorially. “Like when sometimes a girl wants to fuck two guys at once?”

Chris nodded slowly, willing himself not to blush.

“Well, sometimes she also wants the dudes to make out, or act like they’re into each other, or whatever. And now, when that happens-”

Chris can’t help himself, “ _If_ that happens.”

“It’s going to happen! And when it does, I won’t be thrown by the request. Chicks dig a dude who’s comfortable with himself enough to hook up with another dude. You should try it.”

About sixty images, all unbidden, rush to the front of Chris’s mind. “I think I’m good.”

Nick shrugged. “I’m just trying to help you out.”

“Well thank you, but I think I’m good.”

* * * * *

If it ever comes up, which Chris scrupulously uses incognito browsers to avoid, he will probably say it was an accident. It's one thing to watch a hot chick going to town on two guys, and even the two guys kissing if it's like barely a thing and the rest of it is super hot, but once you've reached the stage where one of the guys is actively blowing the other one (with the girl's help, but still) that is a whole other ball game. He doesn't even know why he's into it, he just is. And it's just oral, not like any of the dudes are getting fucked or anything, so it's not _that_ gay.

This girl is really hot. Not in a Jessica way, like lots of porn stars seem to be, but like more... wholesome. He'd say in a Rachel way, but that feels weird because Rachel probably would not appreciate being compared to a porn star. (There is every chance that Jessica would have taken it as a compliment.)

But she's hot, and the guys are alright looking (a little too polished, to be honest) and the blowjob bit doesn't go on for long before it's back to the regular stuff, so he lets it go.

* * * * *

"Hey, my mom wants to know if you're still coming over next week?"

Chris racks his brain for a second. "What's next week?"

Adam rolls his eyes. "Easter."

"What? No, Easter's in April."

"It changes every year, genius. Are you coming or not?"

"Absolutely."

Chris's mom doesn't particularly care about Easter, so he's been going to Adam's family dinner for years. He gets the sweet end of the deal, not having to attend church or run any errands, but still getting fed a giant plate of ham. He always shows up exactly twenty minutes before dinner is served, with a clean button-down on and flowers for Adam's mom. 

After dinner, he has the choice between hanging out with Adam's four crotchety and slightly racist uncles, helping Adam wrangle the increasing number of kids that are at this thing, or offering to help Adam's mom in the kitchen.

Karen loves him.

He's not even doing very much, just giving everything a cursory rinse off before she carefully stacks it into the dishwasher, but no one else has even offered so he gets all the kudos.

There’s a window above the sink, looking out at the back yard. It is way too cold for all the kids to be outside, but Adam is valiantly attempting to wear them out before they all drive home. The yard is full of small children in winter coats, all of them barely at Adam's elbow, running around and crashing into each other. Adam's doing his best to yell at them not to hurt each other, but he's barely audible above the screaming.

Adam catches his eye through the window and smiles, hugging his arms in close around his body. Chris smiles back and exaggeratedly fans himself to show off how warm the kitchen is. He can tell Adam wants to flip him off but isn't going to because of all the kids. It only makes him smile wider.

Next to him, Karen coughs and he quickly hands her over the pie plate he'd been rinsing, so she can finally run the dishwasher. Afterwards, he's drying his hands on a dishtowel and she comes to stand next to him.

"Is he okay?"

Chris doesn't say anything for a second while they both watch Adam diligently tie a three-year-old's shoe outside.

"He is, yeah."

"That's good." She sighs. "I worry, sometimes. That he's not. But I can't ask him, he'll think I'm worried about the whole gay thing, and really it isn't that. I always worried a little, but I just assumed he'd show up one day with a girl and that would be it. And now that's not going to happen, not exactly, but I still want him to be okay."

Chris turned to face her. "He's okay, I promise. And it's not going to be a girl, but you'll definitely see him get married one day. He's the type."

"Thanks, Chris." She leaned in to give him a quick hug. "I know I can trust you to watch out for him."

He hugged her back. "Anytime, Karen."

* * * * *

Back when Ortu had sent them all their invitations and demanded RSVPs, Chris had been planning on taking Rachel to the wedding. For a few weeks, he’d contemplated asking her if she wanted to go anyway, seeing as they’d said they wanted to stay friends, but Adam had strongly recommended against it. Apparently when someone says they want to be friends after a break up, even if they mean it, they don’t mean immediately.

Ortu has already ordered him not to bring ‘some skank’ to the wedding, so he’s out of ideas.

“It’s fine.” Adam said. “I’m dateless too, we’ll be busy anyway, groomsman shit. Then at the reception, we’ll find you a hot distant cousin to bang.”

“We can’t find you a hot distant cousin?”

Adam rolled his eyes. “Do you really think there’s even a remote possibility that someone else at this wedding is gay? Ortu’s mom would already have given me seven reasons why I should give Cousin Ronnie a chance.”

* * * * *

It's been a long day at work and Chris is already kind of drunk by the time he fires up pornhub. He's trying to find the same video he watched a while ago - the one with the blowjob - and he doesn't really notice until it's started that he's accidentally clicked on a different video with the same two dudes. The video takes a second to buffer and he already has his hand shoved down his pants before he realises there's no girl in this video, just the two guys, making out on the couch and groping each other.

He doesn't stop watching. He doesn't take his hand out of his pants. He keeps watching until one of the guys guides the other one down to start blowing him, and Chris is harder than he ever remembers being in his entire life. The guy on his knees is super into it, and the guy getting blown looks overwhelmed by everything, clutching his own floppy hair with one hand while he stutteringly traces the line of the other guy's jaw with his other hand.

Chris comes fast, and he usually stops watching the second he's done, but he leaves this one on. Keeps watching as the kneeling guy pulls floppy hair's stupid cargo shorts entirely off and starts fingering him. By the time he's ready to fuck the guy, dragging him over so he's bent practically in half on the couch cushion, Chris is completely hard again.

* * * * *

Ortu and Michelle’s wedding rehearsal and dinner is the exact kind of chaos that Chris has come to expect from anything involving Ortu’s family, but nothing goes so badly wrong it ruins everything, so Chris chalks it up as a win. Michelle looks radiantly happy even in her jeans and t-shirt, and Ortu looks like he’s trying to stay calm and not really managing it.

After the rehearsal, and the dinner, and the various speeches, they all end up in the hotel bar, knowing they can’t drink _too_ much but not letting that stop them. Around 11:30, Michelle’s bridesmaids announces she has to leave to get enough sleep, and pulls her away from where Ortu is kissing her in the middle of the bar, telling her how much he loves her and wants to marry her.

“I guess that’s my cue.” Nick says, rising to take Ortu back to his own hotel room. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow, bright and early.”

Chris and Adam both toss off an obedient salute, but the second Nick is gone they order one more round.

“Do you think you’ll ever get married?” Adam asks.

Chris thinks for a second. “Sure, why not? You?”

Adam shrugs, looking into his beer. “I don’t know, I never really thought about it. Either I couldn’t because it wasn’t legal, or I couldn’t because then I’d have to tell everyone or… something.”

He takes a sip from his beer and glance over at Chris. “I’d like to though, I think.”

Even after everything that’s happened in the last year, Chris isn’t used to seeing Adam vulnerable. He throws an arm around his shoulder.

“You will, I guarantee it.”

Adam laughs. “You sure about that?”

“Of course I am, you’re a catch.”

“Am I?

Chris’s arm is still around Adam’s shoulder, so he squeezes his bicep. “Adam, Adam, don’t sell yourself short. You’re pretty decent looking, good with kids, you know about cars so you’ll never need to hire a mechanic which is great, budget-wise, your mom makes amazing Easter ham…”

Adam laughs and pushes his hand through his hair. “Glad to see you have a concrete list of my good qualities. Why didn’t we put any of these on my dating profile?”

“I can’t tell just anyone about Karen’s ham, Adam. That’s secret information I’ll only share with the truly deserving.”

“Oh, right. Good to know.”

Chris turns to face Adam, resting his hand on his shoulder. “All jokes aside though. You’re a great guy. Any dude would be lucky to have you. If you want to settle down and get married, you totally will. I bet you’re next, even.”

Adam smiles a little, and Chris’s whole body feels warm and weightless at the same time. “Thanks."

* * * * *

They stay up drinking longer then they should.

Adam is probably drunker then him, but Adam is also probably the best of them at dealing with a hangover, so Chris figures it's not going to be that much trouble.

Chris walks Adam up to his hotel room, his arm around Adam's back and Adam plastered to his side. His skin is warm and his breath is hot against Chris's neck, and every inch of Chris feels like it's on fire.

Outside Adam's room, Chris leans him against the door while he fishes the room key out of Adam's pants and concentrates really hard on not freaking out. Once he gets the door open, he flops Adam down on his bed and goes to grab him some water for when he wakes up. 

When he turns back to the bed, Adam has somehow already managed to wriggle out of half his clothes. He's lying there propped up on his elbows, in just his boxers and a half-open button-down, and Chris's brain entirely short-circuits for a second.

"Chris?"

"Yeah?"

"You too, okay?"

He has no idea what Adam is talking about. "Me too what?"

"You're a catch. You'll find some hot wife, right? You're smart, and good with kids even if you pretend you're not, and you're hot."

Adam runs his hand down his chest, already distracted. "I don't think I can unbutton the rest of this myself.”

Chris desperately needs to get out of this room. He wants to climb on the bed and pull of the rest of Adam’s clothes, and kiss him until they’re both dizzy. Instead, he puts the water on the bedside locker. "Drink this in the morning so you don't die."

Adam nodded in sleepy acknowledgement. "G'night."

"Night."

* * * * *

Adam looks good in a tux, even with the terrible bowties Ortu had insisted they all wear. 

Chris has been working really fucking hard on ignoring how good Adam looks in general, but watching him bite his lip in concentration as he struggles with the bowtie kills all of that. Chris hasn’t desperately wanted to kiss someone this badly since the first date with Rachel, and maybe not even then. He feels it in his stomach like a string that’s been pulled tight.

Adam throws his hands up, defeated by the bowtie. Before he can call Mr. Ortu over for help, Chris swoops in and starts fixing it.

“How do you know how to do this?”

Chris smiles. “I am a man of many hidden and exceptional talents. Also I was a cater-waiter in college, you remember.”

“Those didn’t just clip on?”

Chris smacks him gently on the arm before turning him back to the mirror and making ‘ta-da’ hands around his now reasonably tied bowtie. He wants to slide his hands along his shoulders and down his arms, trace the back of his hands with his thumbs, but instead he pulls back.

“There you go, now you won’t embarrass all of us.”

Adam turns back to face him and smiles. “I appreciate that.”

* * * * *

The wedding is pretty nice. Michelle cries, Ortu cries, even Nick cries a little, furiously denying it even as it happens.

They make it through all the speeches and bullshit afterwards without disgracing themselves, but after three hours, that’s enough. Ortu is mingling with all the people who are wishing him well, but Adam and Chris have a bottle of Mount Gay and are listening to Nick lament how this changes everything.

Ortu and Michelle have been living together for ages, so Chris doesn’t really see how this changes anything, until he knocks her up, but it’s best not to get in the way of Nick’s emotions when he has them. Instead, he and Adam lock eyes over Nick’s head and laugh.

It doesn’t take long before Nick’s distracted by someone, and he disappears into the crowded dance floor before they even notice he’s stopped talking. Chris glances over at Adam, whose bowtie is now loose around his neck with his top buttons undone, and feels that sharp clench of _I want that_ again.

“Are you hot?”

Chris chokes on his rum. “Am I what?”

“You look a little flushed. Do you need air? It’s pretty gross in here.”

It’s a fair assessment, the air in here is thick with dozens of different perfumes, even if that’s not really why he’s red.

“Sure.”

Outside, it’s still early enough in the year that there’s a chill in the air, and Chris is a little colder then he’d like to be. But he’s alone, with Adam, for the first time all day, and even if it’s nothing, it’s nice.

Adam still has the Gay in his hands, and he takes a swig directly from the bottle before handing it over. Chris sets the bottle down on the terrace wall, unsure if drinking anything else is the best course of action.

Adam is standing close enough their arms are pressed together, and in the cold air he can feel the warmth of Adam’s skin through both their suits. He turns a little to lean against the wall, hoping to force a tiny bit of distance between them. Instead, Adam turns to face him, and before Chris can say anything, reaches up to brush a fingertip right along Chris’s cheekbone.

He smiles distantly and holds the fingertip up for Chris to see. “Eyelash. Make a wish?”

The tight string of desire in Chris’s stomach snaps, and he presses his lips against Adam’s.

Adam kisses back, and for a moment it's perfect until Adam pulls back.

"Chris? What's going on?"

Chris doesn't have a good answer for that, so instead, he runs. Back through the reception, into the hallway, and into the restrooms three doors down. He locks himself into a stall and sits down, breathing heavily.

He hadn't meant to do that. Wanting Adam was a hypothetical. It wasn't supposed to become an actual thing. 

It feels like forever, but can't be more then maybe ten minutes, before someone is knocking on the door of the stall.

"Can I come in?" Nick asks.

Chris opens the door and Nick comes in, closing it again to lean against it.

"Dude, what the hell?"

"I kissed Adam."

Nick doesn't look as surprised as Chris expected.

"Huh. Okay, I can see it."

"I'm not gay."

Nick shrugged. "You don't have to be gay to want to make out with a dude, dude."

"You mean like you?"

Nick shrugged. "Like me, I guess. Though I don't really care about doing it again. Like lots of people."

"I don't just want to make out with him though. I want to hold his hand and do all sorts of dumb romantic shit. That's pretty gay."

"Chris," Nick leaned over and put a heavy hand on his shoulder. "There's this thing called bisexuality."

Chris rolled his eyes. "I am aware, thanks."

Nick threw his hands up in the air. "I don't see the problem then."

"I'm not bisexual. I'm not into other guys. Just him."

"Okay, it's not like dividing up Christmas candy with your sister, there are no rules about everything being split evenly. It's spectrum, it's a whole thing. There's this guy called Kinsey-"

Chris is a little drunk, and he must be visibly losing the thread of whatever Nick is saying, because he stops. 

"Look, if you don't actually want him, that's one thing. That's fine, but I'd probably apologise and then not text him for a while. But you don't have to be into every guy you see to be bi. It could just be him. It could be him now, and then other dudes later. Who the fuck knows, not even you. If you do want him, you should tell him."

Chris glares at Nick from across the stall. "When did you get so smart about all this?"

"Fuck you, I'm really smart."

"You once ate a candle."

"That was _two years ago_ and it was a _really delicious smelling_ candle."

Chris lets Nick pull him to his feet. "You're going to have to leave the bathroom at some point. It's probably better that it's now."

"Yeah, yeah." 

Chris looks at himself in the mirror. He's kind of a mess. He turns back to Nick and lets him attempt to brush his hair into something a little more presentable.

"Sexuality's a spectrum, yeah?"

Nick grinned. "Yeah, it's definitely a thing. I can send you some articles."

Outside the restroom, Adam's leaning against the wall. Nick pats him on the shoulder before hurrying back to the reception. Chris walks over to Adam and slouches against the same wall, facing him.

There's a moment of silence where they just look at each other, before Adam speaks.

"So, what was that about?"

Chris winces. "I was freaking out."

"I got that, yeah."

"Sorry."

"I don't really know what you're apologising for, yet, so..."

"Sorry I kissed you-" Chris can see Adam's face start to shutter and rushes to finish, "-and ran away, not just that I kissed you in general. I wanted to kiss you. I still want to kiss you, if you want to kiss me. Even if you don't, I guess, but I won't try again. Sorry. I was having a bisexual crisis. I'm probably still having one, but I'll get better."

Adam is just staring at him. "You're bisexual now? Since when?"

"I don't know? Last month? Forever and I never noticed it before? Does it matter?"

"It matters! How could you have not noticed?"

Chris folds his arms. "Because I'm not attracted to that many guys. It's still a thing, Nick told me all about it. The spectrum."

Adam sighs and covers his face with his hands for a second, breathing deeply. "I still don't know what this has to do with you kissing me."

"Because I wanted to! I want to do more than that." Chris takes a breath, lets it out again. "Like, sex stuff. And not sex stuff, like be the person who reminds you that you have to wear gloves in January or you'll lose your fingers, or who your mom tells to make sure you eat your vegetables, or like... whatever. Shit like that."

Adam stares at him for a moment. "You want to make me wear a coat and eat my vegetables?"

Chris rolls his eyes. "Yes. _And_ I want to blow you, so like... focus on that."

Adam is silent again a while longer. 

"Okay." He finally talks. "Here's what we're going to do. We're going to go back to our rooms, sleep, and in the morning we can go somewhere, just us, and have breakfast, and talk about this."

That isn't really the night Chris had in mind when he started all of this, but he does know that it's probably a better idea.

"Okay."

They walk in silence back to the elevator, the backs of their hands brushing against each other every few steps. Outside Chris's room, Adam grabs hold of his hand for a second and squeezes.

"Goodnight, Chris."

He leans in to kiss him on the cheek, but at the last second Chris tilts his head and their lips connect. Adam lets him, and they kiss for a few long seconds before he pulls away, one hand on Chris's chest to hold him back.

"Tomorrow. Breakfast."

"Tomorrow," Chris agrees, and watches Adam walk to his own room. Right before he goes inside, he looks back at Chris and smiles, biting his lip.

Chris feels good about this.

* * * * *

Three weeks later, Ortu is back from his honeymoon, and the three of them are in the bar to welcome him home.

He sits down, looks them all up and down, and frowns. "What the fuck happened while I was gone?"

Nick grins widely and points to Adam and Chris. "These two, they're fucking now."

Chris leans over to smack the back of Nick's head at the same time as Adam says "what the fuck, Nick."

Ortu leans back in the booth and looks at them both. "Hmm. I'll allow it."

"Thank you for your support, we desperately needed that." Adam rolls his eyes, but under the table he quickly squeezes and releases Chris's hand.

Half and hour later, Ortu has had several shots.

"You know what I can't believe is, last year, we were all straight."

"I wasn't-" Adam tried to interrupt, but Ortu cut him off. 

"We were all straight, and now look. You're all gay."

"I'm bi." Chris pointed out.

"I'm still straight." Nick said.

"Oh yeah," Ortu scoffed. "A straight dude who jerks off other dudes."

"That was one time! I'm straight, but like... expansive."

"That's not a thing."

"It's a whole thing. I'll send you some articles."

Chris zones out a little and leans in to Adams's side. Adam shifts to wrap his arm around Chris's shoulder, and he can feel the smile on Adam's face when he kisses his temple.

"Good?" Adam asks.

"Good."


End file.
